


Dyslexia

by WolfaMoon



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Bridge of Terabithia Spoilers, Brotherly Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson, Comic, Dyslexia, F/F, F/M, Fan Comics, Friendship, Good Babysitter Steve Harrington, Help, Learning Disabilities, Reading, Steve Harrington Needs a Hug, Unbeta'd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-29 05:03:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19823116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfaMoon/pseuds/WolfaMoon
Summary: Robin figures out something about Steve. And with her discovery the whole party joins in to help him.





	Dyslexia

**Author's Note:**

> Bridge of Terabithia Spoilers

Dyslexia  
Summary: Robin figures out something about Steve. And with her discovery the whole party joins in to help him.  
Disclaimer: Don’t own. Pardon any mistakes. No beta reader.

~ Ender’s Game ~  
Robin is reading a book while Steve restocked VHS shelves. Steve is smart in his on way. But there is something that has been bugging her ever since getting to know Steve better. Looking down at her book she calls him over.  
“Steve.” He comes over. “Read this for me?” Handing over her book to him Steve takes in the cover.  
“Ender’s Game.”  
“No,” she opens a page and taps the words. Observing as Steve looks at the book and squints. Looking down at it one last time before handing it back to her.  
“Why do you want me to read this?” Robin’s eyes go wide at figuring out.  
“You can’t read.”  
“I can read.”  
“You can read the big words but when it’s books.” She looks at him flabbergasted. King Steve of Hawkins High doesn’t know how to read and graduated high school without anyone knowing. Or the school just didn’t care about the learning just the jock. “Steve?”  
“So what? I can’t read. Everything gets all jumbled and it gives me a headache. No one thought it was important to correct in school so here I am.”  
“How come your parents didn’t notice?”  
“They were never home and only cared about their excelling athletic son. So…” Steve shrugs. Picking up another stake of VHS to restock.  
“Steve, this is important.” Robin tries again.  
“I can do math very well.”  
“Okay, you get numbers but you need to get this.” She holds up her book.  
“Why?”  
“Do you really want to work retail your whole life?”  
“Someone has to do it.” Steve resigns stocking the shelves.  
“I’m going to teach you to read.”  
“Why?”  
“Because you can be smart.”  
“Smart ass.”  
“That too.”

~Days of Future Past~  
Robin calls Dustin and gets him on the bandwagon to helping Steve learn to read. Dustin brings books from his grade level and comics.  
“Guys, come on.” Steve tries to fight.  
“No.” Dustin has Steve sit down at the dinning room table and places a comic in front of him. “Start with this. It’s pictures and words.” Dustin looks proud at teaching Steve about X-men.  
Will and El come in from the other room.  
“What’s going on?” El asks looking at the comic covered dinning room table.  
“Teaching Steve to read.” Dustin states which has Steve gawk up at him in betrayal of telling a secret.  
“You can’t read?’ Will asks. Steve glares at him but his gaze softens and nods.  
“Not well.” He adds. El pulls up a chair next to him.  
“I can’t read well either, learning.” She voices picking up a comic. Steve looks at her smiling and tapping her nose.  
“I bet you’ll pick it up a hell of a lot faster than I do.”

~Bridge to Terabithia~  
Steve is watching El and Will while Joyce works. Getting home for dinner, cooking and Steve at the table with the kids. Remembering the first time she sees him struggling.  
“Do your words get jumbled?” Joyce asks.  
“Yeah.” Joyce moves off to get a ruler. She places them under a string of words.  
“Try this.” Steve focuses and begins to read. They still get jumpy but they don’t blur as badly.  
“Helping?”  
“Kind of.”  
“It’s a start.” Joyce ruffles his hair before moving into the kitchen to get some food out. “Take your time.” Shacking her head she is upset that no one noticed that Steve couldn’t read. He could read but simple things. The kid passing on his athletics and no one caring about what happens after there no more sports. She asks about his parents but he shrugged him off. ‘As long as I’m winning games, they don’t care.’ Had been his response. This caused her blood to boil and go full momma bear at the principle of Hawkins high. The man tried to apologize and said they would try to help. Too little to late.  
Going to the library Joyce found books on dyslexia and ways to help. So Steve is spending more time at the Byers household with El next to him both learning to read. Smiling as Steve had no compunction with asking Will for help with words. Will gladly stop drawing to help Steve.  
“Okay, so this stuff is just in their imagination?” Will nods to Steve’s question.  
“Yeah, Terabithia is where they can be anything.”  
“Like your castle Byers.” Steve concludes.  
“Yeah,” Will nods recollecting on him destroying of his Terabithia.  
“This girl is awesome.” Steve says. But at his word Will’s face grows solemn. “What?”  
“I can’t tell you. It will destroy the book for you.”  
“Destroy… what? Does she die?” Will looks down. “She dies!” Steve tosses the book on the table. “This book sucks.”  
“It’s still a good story.” Will tries to reassure Steve. Steve looks at the book with disgust. Looking through the pile Will pulls another book out.  
“Julie of the Wolves?”  
“Yeah.” Steve takes the book. Setting it down he rubs his head. “You okay?” Will Asks.  
“Just getting a headache.” Looking over at Will he smiles. “Do you have comic books I can read till my head stops throbbing?” Will smiles hopping up to get his comics. Coming out he lays them down. Steve picks one up and begins to read.  
Joyce is finishing dinner when Will starts laughing lavishly. Coming out she spies Steve with a comic and Will explaining the characters to Steve. Steve smiles at Will as Will settles and continues to explain Wolverine’s origin to him and how there is a love triangle. Eleven has opted to move and sit on Steve’s knee so she can read with Steve and Will. Both turning to Will when they need explanation on a character or what they missed in a previous comic. Her heart going out and wondering if she should stay but she can’t. They would be leaving and… some part of her wants to bring Steve with her. 

~Logan’s Run~  
Robin continues to restock shelves as Steve reads Logan’s Run. She had made him sit and watch the movie to help him visualize the world that the words painted. Coming back she looks at him.  
“How’s it going?”  
“Um, good. Good.” He had a notebook with words in it. She looks down at the words. “For the words I’m having a harder time with.” Robin had read one of the help adults learn to read books and had read this method inside. Realizing Joyce might have prompted him to do this. That woman is a godsend. And a true mother figure that Steve needs. Joyce never judged him and would come in from work to read with Steve on break.  
“Is it getting better?”  
“Mrs. Byers, thinks I may need reading glasses.”  
“And will you wear them?” King Steve in glasses, Robin smiles at the image.  
“If it helps.” Steve closes the book. “She talked to the principle and she got him to let me take my school final exams over again.”  
“So you can get your grades up?”  
“Yeah. Do you think you can help me study?” Robin smiles at her best friend.  
“Of course.”

~Romeo and Juliet~  
Joyce sits reading Shakespeare aloud while Steve cooks in the kitchen. Romeo and Juliet, which will be asked upon for the final exams in English. Will and El sit at the table listening too.  
“Can Steve move with us?” El asks after the balcony scene.  
“El?” Joyce takes in the newest edition.  
“Steve has no one here. No family. He’s our family.” El says with more force. Steve and her had made a connection over education and took hope in catching up with the others.  
“Then who would babysit the rest of the party?” Steve comes in setting down a side dish of scalloped potatoes. “Meatloaf will be done soon.”  
“I c…” she forgets but looks down. Resting a hand on her she looks up at Steve.  
“It’s all good El. I’ll come visit.” Steve reassures her. “Besides who do you think is going to drive the party up for the holiday?” El smiles but turns to the book in front of her than back up at Steve.  
“I like having someone to learn with.” El adds  
“Me too.” Steve nods to Joyce who then continues reading.

~Charlie and the Chocolate Factory~  
Max sits outside of the arcade with Steve as he reads Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  
“Enjoying the book?” Max asks.  
“Yeah. It’s getting easier.” He looks up at her over the rim of his reading glasses.  
Tommy comes up to them and snatches them off his face.  
“Looking nerdy their Harrington. What can’t keep Nancy so you go for Billy’s jailbait.” Steve stands up slowly handing the book to Max. Two steps forward he pulls a move that puts Tommy on his ass and bleeding from his nose. Steve picks up his glasses and ushers Max into the video store. Max looks at Steve in shock.  
“How the hell?” Max starts.  
“I read a book on jeet kune do.” Grabbing Max they head inside the movie store. “I can’t believe I was ever friends with that.” Max huffs jumping up on the counter of the store.  
“So, Bruce Lee?” Steve smiles at her.  
“Do you want to borrow it?” Max looks hard at Steve. Her and Billy’s relationship was rocky at best. Yet near the end they had a civil agreement.  
“Can you teach me to drive?”  
“You already know how to drive,” he reminds her.  
“I mean legal.”  
“Yeah, if… you loan me your wonder woman comics.”  
“Deal.” Max smiles grabbing a lollipop from the stash Steve keeps there for customer kids and his kids. It is also good to have a fellow DC lover. The party mostly rallied behind Marvel. But Marvel did not have Wonder Woman.

~Final Chapter~  
“Guess what?” Steve calls to Robin as he enters the video store for their shift.  
“I got into a college.” Robin hops over the counter to stand before him.  
“What?” Steve shows her the letter of acceptance and scholarship.  
“Yeah I wrote a letter about finally learning to read and the support I received not from a family of blood but of my choosing. They are giving me a scholarship on learning needs program.”  
“That’s amazing.” Robin says hugging him. “So what are you going to go to school for.”  
“I’m not sure.” Confusion filters over his face. He never thought he would get this far. “Do you think I’d be a good teacher?” Robin raises an eyebrow at him. “What? Yeah I’d be a terrible teacher.”  
“No that’s not it. It’s a lot of work. You have to learn all the subjects.”  
“I know. So I talked to Mrs. Byers and she read that people with dyslexia have this unique way with languages.”  
“So you’re going to study Russian?”  
“It has come in handy.”  
“Then you could be a language teacher.” Robin voices. “Best of both worlds.”  
“Then it is settled.” Steve smiles at her. “Language teacher.” Steve smiles wide and hugs her one more time. Robin is proud.  
Who would have thought that the realization of the jock king from Hawkins high that could not read would be standing before her now with a future. And for that she is proud and happy that her best friend is finally able to be something more that the once and future king.

THE END


End file.
